The Spiny Shell
by Master Pencil
Summary: It's always a fun time in Mario Kart until this appears. This is an account of how it feels to be hit by everyone's least favorite item.


**The Spiny Shell**

**By Master Pencil**

The day seemed perfect, absolutely nothing looked poor or bleak about it. The sun shone brightly, the grass was green, and the few clouds in the sky were lofty in their pose. Along the sides of Luigi Circuit cheered the crowds in joy. A race was going to be held on this splendid day, one that was sure to be a smooth competition. It sure looked to be so among the racers, because each one was beaming ahead of the track with cheerful willing. Their engines revved up playfully and their karts seemed to glitter. Surely there would be no mistakes on a fine day such as this?

Finally, a Lakitu floated down to the racers with his lights ready to go. The countdown to the race began, and once the horn was rung, the racers took off. The favorite for this race was Mario, and there was no denying how positive he looked that this race would be a cake walk.

"Let's-a go win this race!" he cheered.

He got off to a good start, and when he busted the first item box to receive a banana peel he tossed it over his shoulder right in the face of Luigi. Poor Luigi spun in a circle and was knocked into submission by a resurging Bullet Bill. He was sure to be in obscurity for the rest of this great race.

"Yes, Wahoo!" said Mario, glad to see that his item hit its target.

By now he would have been devastated by a volley of red shells, but today was his lucky day. He cleared the first lap with relative ease, and it was no surprise to him that the others still haven't gotten close to him. Even a wild sport such as Mario Kart could have its calm days and this was certainly one of them. Mario was so ahead of his competitors that no red shell, green shell, or any shell could get him.

Now he was reaching the speed ramps again, and he felt like a soaring eagle as he went over them. He gave all the cheering crowds a catchy Mario grin as he cruised by, making sure that everyone saw it. The burst of speed he got when he left the ramps only increased his love for the race.

"Second lap down," he muttered to himself.

While the others were shooting and trapping each other blind, Mario drove ahead of the pack like a glorious leader. He did get stalled by a banana peel for a moment, but it was no big deal. Mario was so far ahead of everyone that there was little chance of anyone getting him now.

To further prove that he was near unstoppable, Mario released a string of three banana peels behind his kart. Now these peels would follow him until three red shells would hit them, and the odds of that were slim. Should that even happen, Mario received a green shell in his item slot so he could be well-prepared.

"I-a have it made!" he said.

He had it made for sure, because he was approaching the speed ramps again for another nod at the crowd. Today had been such good times that even the other racers that could have had a golden mushroom or a bullet bill did not. Mario made it around the Luigi statue and was going down the road along the sand in high sprits.

Soon the speed ramps were upon him, and Mario's sprits still remained as high as the day. Crowds were still cheering, the racers were far behind, and now the day would belong to Mario. He got off the speed ramps and went to the finish line.

"Yeah, I'm-a gonna win!" he cried.

A horrible noise swooped above Mario and crashed into him. Explosive blue flames swallowed him up and threw him straight in the air. Caught in a panic, he fell back down to the track. His engine was stalled because of the explosion, so he had to move slowly to get it back to normal. However, the other racers appeared from out of nowhere.

Mario was slammed by a star powered by Toad, flattened by a giant Wario, and flipped over into the side by Bowser riding in a Bullet Bill. When he finally recuperated and drove over the finish line, he was in dead last.

"Mama Mia, what-a happened?!" he moaned.

The day didn't look so swell now. In fact it looked downright terrible. What a poor twist for our dear plumber. Grief was seen pretty clear in his sad eyes and he pounded his wheel with saddened disappointment. Forget what the rest of the day was like, this day sucks. What sick, demented monster did this to him?

"The winner of the race is… Luigi!" announced the Lakitu.

Mama Mia indeed, he thought he was out in obscurity this whole time, but being in the far back gave him the advantage of using that one weapon that just ruined his day.

Mario would be bummed out for the rest of the day, but he made sure that he didn't get cocky again, for this is Mario Kart, and everyone at some point must feel the destructive power of the Spiny Shell. And Mario used to think that it wasn't so bad before.


End file.
